Expecting A Show

Expecting a Show

Luke 23:4-12, NLT

Pilate turned to the leading priests and to the crowd and said, “I find nothing wrong with this man!” 5Then they became insistent. “But he is causing riots by his teaching wherever he goes—all over Judea, from Galilee to Jerusalem!” 6“Oh, is he a Galilean?” Pilate asked. 7When they said that he was, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas, because Galilee was under Herod’s jurisdiction, and Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at the time. 8Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a miracle. 9He asked Jesus question after question, but Jesus refused to answer. 10Meanwhile, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law stood there shouting their accusations. 11Then Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus. Finally, they put a royal robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. 12(Herod and Pilate, who had been enemies before, became friends that day.)

Setting the Scene

Jesus grew up in Nazareth and later had made Capernaum his base, so he was, indeed, “under Herod’s jurisdiction.” This was the Herod Antipas who had killed John the Baptist (see Matthew 14:1-12). He, too, was in Jerusalem that weekend for the Passover.

Herod was ecstatic. He apparently saw Jesus as no more than a traveling sideshow. However, Jesus would not answer Herod’s questions, much less perform any miracles. Herod is the only person to whom Jesus said nothing at all. Herod had not listened to John the Baptist, and Jesus had nothing to add to what John had said. Jesus remained silent, so Herod simply “sent him back to Pilate.”

Herod had two advantages over Pilate: He had come from a part-Jewish monarchy and had held his position much longer. But Pilate had two advantages over Herod: He was a Roman citizen and an envoy of the emperor, and his position had been created to replace Herod’s ineffective half brother. So the two men were uneasy around each other. Jesus’ trial, however, brought them together. Because Pilate had recognized Herod’s authority over Galilee, Herod had stopped feeling threatened by the Roman politician. And because neither man knew what to do in this predicament, their common problem united them.

Getting Personal

What examples can you remember of people wanting Jesus to perform for them?

When have you used prayer as sort of a magic formula, expecting God to meet your need because you asked him in the right way?

Instead of trying to use Jesus, how should you approach him?

Another popular way to “judge” Jesus is to see him as just a miracle worker. Many hope that Jesus will put on a show for them, saying they will believe in Jesus if he’ll do a miracle. Others act like Herod by expecting Jesus to respond to their command, to answer a prayer for physical healing, instant riches, romance, or some other desire or dream. But Jesus will not perform at our whim. In reality, he “is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20, NLT).

Talking to God

Confess that sometimes your prayers slip into a long list of requests or demands, or that you have seen God as a way to help you get what you want. Ask God to fill you with his love and his purposes, so that what you want lines up with his plans. Tell him you depend on his mighty power to accomplish more than you might ask or think.